Police say at least 16 people have been killed in flash floods at a state park in western Arkansas. Reports say more than 40 people are still unaccounted for.The park is situated in a valley between two heavily forested hills, near the Little Missouri River. The "little Mo" watershed got hit with 5" to 9" of rain within a very short period of time. The water level went from 3 feet to 23 feet between the hours of approximately 11:00pm to around 3:00am.
Bill Sadler from the Arkansas State Police said they would continue rescue efforts a long as necessary. The park does not require campers to register, so it was unclear how many people remained missing or if any people managed to escape the racing waters to pull themselves onto the shore.
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It's a USFS campground so registration within the campground is required, but the registration box was swept away in the flood.
But a lot of people camp up and down the river (you can camp anywhere on USFS and BLM land unless it is explicitly closed to camping) and therefore didn't register.
CNN's also saying they've gotten calls from relatives about 73 people who haven't been heard from, but they expect most of these folks are just holed up and will be found. Hopefully.
Flash floods are bad. I destroyed the original engine in my current car in a flash flood, trying to drive up to my tent which was on higher ground. The water was rushing by about six inches deep ... until I hit the part of the road that had been washed out to a depth of well ... much too much! Grrr.
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